ECS P45T-A Review

Introduction:

With the wealth of new chipsets on the market now, how do you choose the right one for you? Say you want the latest and greatest, but your wallet frowns when you see the prices of some of the newer boards. What do you do? Well, you should never sacrifice or settle for anything less than what you want, and Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) makes all of that possible. ECS has come a long way in the motherboard market, offering stable platforms that will not break your budget. Recently ECS launched its "Black Series" motherboards, which are aimed at enthusiasts and gamers who push their systems to the limit.

Today we are going to take a look at the ECS P45T-A, which is based on the new Intel P45 and ICH10R chipsets. The P45 chipset supports 45nm CPUs with a Front Side Bus up to 1333MHz. This board is designed to give you the maximum amount of performance for the best price. With features like CrossFireX technology and a Motherboard Intelligent BIOS, it makes me curious how good its performance really is.

Closer Look:

The ECS P45T-A comes packaged in the new Black Series box that ECS has adopted for their Black Series motherboards. It features a dragon mascot, and has some of the board's specifications on the front of the box for easy recognition. The back of the box highlights specific features, like its energy saving capabilities, and CrossFireX and 45nm readiness. You'll also find specifications for the board and, an angle picture so you can see the board's layout before you buy.

Opening the box gives you a look at what the ECS P45T-A has to offer. There are two layers inside; the top houses the included accessories, and the bottom protects the motherboard itself. Included with the P45T-A is the manual, a driver CD, an IDE cable, four SATA cables, and an I/O shield. The SATA cables have right angle connectors on one end, which helps to route the cables in tight cases.

Now that we have everything out of the packaging, let's move on and take a better look at the P45T-A board.